Being Italian? Two Events on Cinema and Italian
Heritage
MAKA
Saturday, December 13th at 12 pm
In person: Screenwriter Simone
Brioni (Director Elia Moutamid will join remotely)
Free | RSVP Required
Maka is a thought-provoking documentary that chronicles the
extraordinary journey of Geneviève Makaping — an anthropologist,
journalist, and the first Black woman to serve as editor-in-chief of an Italian
newspaper. Tracing her migration from Cameroon across the desert and the
Mediterranean Sea to her arrival and life in Italy, the film captures both her
personal resilience and her reflections on race, migration, and representation.
Through an engaging blend of interviews, archival images, and reflective
storytelling, the documentary crafts a powerful meditation on visibility,
identity and belonging. (Italy, 2023, 52 mins, Italian/English with
subtitles | Dir. Elia Moutamid)
These two free events (also Christ in Concrete onSaturday, December 20 at 12 pm) explore the complex legacy of Italian
mobilities and the changing meaning of ‘Italianness’, both in Italy and on Long
Island. Through cinematic storytelling, they trace narratives of migration,
labor, and identity across generations, illuminating how movement shapes
experiences of citizenship, ethnicity, and belonging.
Together, Maka and Christ in
Concrete offer a compelling lens through which to examine the
intertwined histories of departures and arrivals, and the evolving meanings of
‘home’. They invite reflection on the enduring impact of migration on local
communities like Huntington, and on the broader Italian diaspora in the
USA.
By exploring new and old Italian migrations, to and from
Italy, the events will also trace the genesis of Dardanelles, a
forthcoming documentary largely set in Huntington, which takes the life and
work of Pietro Di Donato as a departure point for a reflection on
identity, heritage, and the continuing resonance of the Italian diasporic
experience. An exclusive preview of Dardanelles, a collaboration
between Brioni and Moutamid, will be included in the two events, with the
authors discussing the journey that took them from Christ in Concrete
and Maka to this new project.
This work is supported by Long Island Grants for the Arts
through funds provided by the office of the Governor and the New York State
Legislature, and administered by The Huntington Arts Council.
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